Stage Left and NightShift Theatre, in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival,
present Washed Up.

Washed Up

Her soul full of searching, her shorts full of sand . . .

A woman inexplicably finds herself stranded on an island with only a seagull for company and, between attempts at being rescued and finding distractions to occupy her, she reflects on her experiences as a parent and teacher and starts to wonder if there’s a point to going back to it. A little schtick, a little storytelling, Washed Up is a funny and poignant look at middle age, solitude and finding your own voice.

The unexamined life may not be worth living but sometimes it takes extraordinary circumstances to precipitate those moments of self-reflection. This story is about those “Is that all there is?” moments we all struggle through at regular points in our lives.

Joanne Latimer is the co-founder of NightShift Theatre, and recently directed its successful production of George F. Walker’s Problem Child. Latimer, who played the original Mrs. Vitale in Second City’s long-running hit Tony and Tina’s Wedding, is no stranger to comedy but is not well acquainted with silence. This is her first ever self-created solo show!

Written and Performed by Joanne LatimerDirected by Jocelyn WickettStage Managed by Kaitlyn Smith

Problem Child is the first play in George F. Walker’s Suburban Motel series. R.J., recently out of prison and Denise, who’s “turned a few tricks” to pay the rent, are hunkered down in a motel room awaiting a visit from social worker Helen. Denise will stop at nothing to get her baby back and Helen is the one person standing between her and little Christine. While R.J. gets lost in daytime television, Denise enlists the help of Phillie, the drunken motel manager to affect a happy reunion. Set in a broken-down motel, the broken-down lives of these characters intersect in unexpected ways. This dark comedy is a study in desperate measures for desperate times.

*Poster Design by Lisa Levy

“The human condition is a damnably complex, messy thing apparently, and Walker will not be caught attempting to wrap it up in neatly tied parcels. The stakes are high, usually life or death, and his respect for these stakes is serious. No one is safe, and almost everyone is sorry, and, as for endings, Walker’s stories don’t really end, and his characters don’t ever lie down — unless, of course, they die. And even then we know that the room will be cleaned up, new people will check in, and life will go on. ”